A new walk-in centre is to be established in Darlington after health chiefs secured a funding boost.

The Department of Health has agreed to provide Darlington Primary Care Trust with an additional £100,000 a year for the next two years to help staff the new medical facility.

The funds will help pay for specialist nursing staff for the walk-in centre, which is currently being built on the ground floor of the trust's three storey headquarters in King Street.

Head of primary care, Lorraine Tostevin, said: "The nurses will be specially trained to deal with minor injuries and ailments.

"We will be recruiting shortly but also hope to develop a rota so staff from GP practices and Darlington Memorial Hospital's accident and emergency unit will be able to gain first-hand experience of working in the walk-in centre.

The new facility will occupy the ground floor of Dr Piper House, the £1million headquarters of the trust.

From the end of the year, the ground floor will become a clinic offering an array of services, many on a walk-in, walk-out basis.

The centre will be one of just three facilities in the North, the others being at Newcastle and York.

It will provide support for Darlington's 11 GP practices, the new out-of-hours service and the hospital's accident and emergency unit.

It will be open from 7am until late into the evening, bank holidays and at weekends, depending on public demand.

The centre will be used by members of the public who have minor injuries and ailments, who will be able to turn up without an appointment and generally be dealt with by nurse-led practitioners.